


The Vision of the Second Blight

by Eureka234



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Tenkuu no Escaflowne | The Vision of Escaflowne
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossover, Dragon Age Lore, Grey Wardens, Harry Potter References, High School, Loosely based off Vision of Escaflowne, Pop Culture, Pre-Dragon Age: Origins, Self-Discovery, Tarot, The Blight (Dragon Age), The Second Blight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8221826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eureka234/pseuds/Eureka234
Summary: Fifteen year old Natalie is trying to survive her athletics carnival when a Knight appears. He says he is from the Divine Age at the time of the Second Blight. Is she hallucinating, and what's a Grey Warden? Loosely based off the Vision of Escaflowne.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask how this happened, just try enjoy it for what it is. It is very loosely based on Vision of Escaflowne. My plan was more to do a spin off. I have no idea if I'll do anything more with it, let me know what you think. Chapter 1 corresponds to episode 1.  
> Also one of my fav anime songs ever from this show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXPit9RiOTE

As she slowed beyond the finish line of the hundred meter sprint, Natalie wondered if the feeling had anything on love. Were the endorphins from sport like what women in movies gushed about, or was that what her classmates thought?

Red and blue blotches flashed in front of her eyes as she extended her neck to the sky. Breathe. It was over. Her muscles would not have to ache until she did long jump, and that was a few hours away.

"You're five seconds slower than last you practiced." Antoine said, tapping his stop watch like it was a marker on the whiteboard. As her best friend since year four, she trusted his word about the time more than the teacher's. They were sitting at a table nearby, nibbling on various cakes, and weren't even watching.

 _Lazy head._ Antoine hadn't done anything this athletics carnival except complain about how he had to be outside… and now he was extending his hatred of the grand oval onto her.

Natalie rolled her eyes, "Says the person who gets squeamish at the thought of P.E class."

"Hey, I have my reasons." he said.

She tried to level herself and pushed her brown hair from her eyes, but it was already so short, honestly, running fingers through it was habit. Other racers were doing the awkward leaps and half strides as they progressed from high speed to snail pace, like they'd started trying to avoid stepping on piles lego in their tracks.

"You really need to start bringing a new pair of clothes, if BO bothers you so much."

"Naaahh…." Antoine said. Typical. He was such a sheep in social situations… not that she couldn't understand this notion, he'd gotten hairy like most of the other boys and she knew more than anyone how deadly their change rooms smelled, but there were other facts he was neglecting.

"If everyone started bringing an extra pair of clothes and weren't scared of showering after P.E, would you?"

Her friend screwed up his nose, "No."

Natalie smiled. He was like a brother to her, and liked to defy her logic when she was right, as a rightful sibling would.

Judging by how the other contestants had just finished, maybe she'd get a bronze medal. Her wall already had two gold and one five silvers from previous years. It was a close call, but she'd hope to win more than a participation ribbon, even if she'd been slower than practice.

They'd find out later.

"Fear for your life, I see some sunburn on your neck." She said.

"What?" Antoine's arms jumped to it, perhaps trying to feel if it was sensitive to touch, "How bad? Do I need to put foundation on it?"

"Oohh, let me have a good look." Natalie said. Really, there was no such sunburn, but she was quite sure Antoine would be covered in them tomorrow. This discussion would not be over without some taunting. She wiped her face with her hands, so a film of sweat covered them, and stuck them down the back of his shirt.

Her friend yelped, exactly as she thought he would, "You!" he tried to snatch at her wrists, but she'd removed them too quickly,

Natalie chuckled, "I'd leave the foundation for more worthy occasions."

They head back to their picnic rug under a tree next to the stands they were _actually_ supposed to be using. The teachers had neglected to think that perhaps dumping the high schoolers on metal seats in the full blast of UK summer were an atrocious idea. Their classmates protected themselves from the blaze with strategically placed towels, umbrellas, or sitting in the shade produced by those stands. Otherwise plenty abandoned them altogether and tried to run away from the athletics' carnival when their superiors weren't looking. Most got caught. That was hilarious.

Antoine passed Natalie her water bottle, and she took a hefty swig while he re-tied his hair into a ponytail. Thankfully, Antoine was one of the few guys who could make ponytails look decent. The fact he was a bit pudgy around the middle added to the laid back appeal, like a human teddy. She on the other hand, couldn't make her hair do anything decent. Or perhaps she was sick of her girly girl sister suggesting improvements, so she'd cut the whole lot off, to the disparity of her mother.

"You ran awesome, as always," he said, his gaze focused on the glorious shade, like a king his throne. "Now I won't have anything fun to watch for the rest of the day."

"You mean you've run out of space on your camera?" Natalie inquired, amazed.

"I didn't bring it in case the SD card melted." Antoine said, only half joking. There'd been floods in the city recently, and his house had narrowly avoided total destruction. His parents were currently housing some of the others on his street who had lost most, if not everything. "But I brought cards, even the tarot set you left at my house years ago."

Natalie didn't want to say that she'd left the cards on purpose. They were an unwelcome present from her conspiracy theory obsessed cousin, and at the very least, she thought Antoine would admire their esoteric prettiness. "Get them out then."

He did. Sadly, they'd barely been touched. The box, which was not durable by any means, didn't even have folds or tears in it. The cards themselves appeared brand new.

"You've taken care of them." Natalie said, wondering if she'd figure out the truth this way.

"Yeah. I wasn't really sure what to do with them." Antoine admitted, as he organized them into various suits, "I think they'd be more fun to use with friends. Plus, my Dad screams that I'm going to join a cult whenever he sees me with them. He already thinks I'm gay from the make-up I use."

Natalie was intrigued by this suggestion. She was convinced Antoine's dad and her mother could have made the perfect couple. They were equally over dramatic and prone to jumping to conclusions, but then again, perhaps their combined insanity would have started the end of the world. The idea of Antoine joining a cult was insane. As much of a sheep and self-conscious he was, descending to extremism of any kind was against his nature. He took a very 'middle ground' stance with his opinions. If there was a cult for being well balanced, that was the only place he'd belong in one.

Then there was the idea he was attracted to men. He'd been teased about it as much as she had been about being a lesbian, but speaking for herself, she didn't think she was. Then again, she wasn't really sure she'd been attracted to anybody.

"You take pride in your appearance." Natalie said, "Let's be realistic here. That quality is probably going to be a more useful to get you a job than any of the stuff we learn here."

"And they said 9th grade was supposed to get better." Antoine sighed, wearily. "My dad is so quick to stereotype. If I gave you my make up to wear, it wouldn't make you any less a lesbian."

Natalie laughed, "Shut up." And then she turned to the cards, "What spread do you want to use?"

"I usually ask a question and pick at random."

"Good point." She glanced at her friend, who was aligning the cards into columns. He looked morose, despite being in the shade, "What questions do you ask?"

"Stupid ones."

"Like?"

"Like why do people hate me?"

"I don't hate you."

"Like why can I never remember how to put a U plot into my calculator?"

"U plots are like crucifixions."

Antoine didn't answer that one. He was in one of his pensive moods, where maybe he'd prefer to forget about life and play video games. Their favourite was racing to succeed the quickest at life in the Sims, and wishing real life was as simple as pressing a few buttons. And wishing communication was as easy as speaking gibberish and magically everyone could understand the desired meaning.

"What question do you want to ask?" he said, finally.

Natalie considered. When she'd owned the tarot cards at twelve, her questions revolved around why giraffe's necks had to be so big, or why her sister was such a princess, and having a response that was more or less "annihilation of the self" with an image of a man being stabbed was not reassuring.

Perhaps… she found the cards creepy, and that's why she didn't like them. What did she want to know? What was something abstract, that the cards could translate?

"Am I ever going to understand what love is?" she said, not bothering to filter her thoughts. If Antoine could demand a pack of cards about why he was 'hated', she could ask about love.

Antoine met her gaze. His brown eyes looked far darker than the gold suggested, "Why do you want to know about that?"

"I don't know what all the fuss is about," Natalie said. Now she was saying it, she realized she hadn't verbalized this outside her own head before, "I don't know how it's meant to feel, or what it is even supposed to represent. Like… is it something we _need_ , like food, or is it something we just _want_ , like medals?"

Her friend took his hands off the cards and surveyed some of the year's most hated waving their shirts above their heads like helicopters. Maybe he was thinking about how those students would die if they were characters in the Sims.

"Isn't it both?" Antoine said finally, "Babies die without hugs, don't they?"

He said it like he wasn't sure.

"Hugs don't equal love." Natalie said. She might not know much about emotions, but she was certain about physical contact. Otherwise, Professor Quirrel wouldn't have tried to touch Harry to transfer Voldemort into his body.

"What do they equal then?"

"I don't know." Natalie said, "That's my whole dilemma."

She realized by the fact that Antoine had answered, maybe he knew more about this than she did. Of course, he'd had a crush on their music teacher for a while, and then there was that girl deaf in one ear who said she found dating intimidating, whatever that was _supposed_ to mean… but was that love?

Not wanting to waste any more time, she picked out a card in the middle pile. Her chest almost tortured itself at the image on it. A man on a bed gleamed in bright ink, his torso pierced with many swords and drawing blood. The terrifying detail was something else. It was the same card she'd picked up the first time she'd used the deck. How likely was that with so many cards?

"No way!" in disbelief and panic, Natalie tossed the card away, where it fell haphazardly on top of the pile.

"What's wrong?"

Antoine picked up the card, examined it, and then pulled out the leaflet in the box to find the various interpretations of the Ten of Swords.

"It can represent…" he read aloud some definitions, "hopelessness, being trapped, being defeated, mental anguish, nightmares, end of a cycle…."

Natalie tried to laugh, none of it made sense, but really, this was a bit weird. "It's the same one I picked up years ago. I don't like it. And it doesn't even answer my question…"

"Maybe this is your current state of mind." Antoine suggested, and he put the card down, "Pick another one then."

She pouted despite herself, knowing how dumb she must look. Longing to understand love, she'd chosen the card with swords through a man's body. How unfair could life be? Was romance all about being tortured?

"I'm destined to have my heart broken. That's what it means."

Did she believe it? Maybe she wanted to. If her heart could be broken, it meant that perhaps one day she _could_ fall in love. Wasn't that variety of destiny useful? Then she could augment her intellect and feel less of an outcast.

With a gust of wind that didn't cool her, Natalie drank some more water, conscious of the fact she was starting to get dizzy. It was a stupid card. It shouldn't mean anything, but it bothered her. Picking out another card felt like lying.

"You're right. It probably represents my current state of mind." She said. Sadly this didn't ease her worries either. How was she supposed to find out the answer of her question if neither her best friend nor a deck of cards could be any use? What did her parents know about love, if they said things like 'tough love' whenever she and her sister Sarah got into fights? How was that creating a helpful resolution?

She could imagine the conversation now, "Hey Mum, Dad, I'm confused about what true love is. Do you have any ideas?" and they would say, "Why are you wondering about that? Go make a salad and set the table. Don't complain. No, I don't want to hear it. Tough love."

Urg. The only time love had any "roughness" about it was in prehistoric times with the dinosaurs.

Antoine picked up a card from the top left pile and handed it out. "Here, I got a better one."

From here, all she saw were what looked like a man and woman standing side by side, and looking at each other. A red bird with a Lion's face was hovering over them, protecting them. Where they friends? It appeared that way to her.

As Natalie pried it from her friend's grasp, dizziness overcame her. In lax thought, she remembered a dream she'd had that morning. In another world where demons roamed the earth and Knights ran around like it was her history class on the Middle ages, a battle loomed in some part of the dream she hadn't visited yet.

* * *

A man in his twenties with hair dark as soot looked up to his superior from in the middle of a fortress. The taller one had his features hidden by a visor.

"Are you prepared to lead the assault on Zazikel, Corin?"

"Yes, Warden Commander Valgus," the young man, Corin, answered. He had lightness to his tone, "though when I plunge my weapon into its heart, it will be with the knowledge that I am not killing a Magister, but a beast."

"Magister's _are_ beasts." Valgus said, unamused, "for they never look us in the eye."

"Perhaps you are simply too horrific to look at." Corin joked.

"Not as much as Zazikel." Valgus replied. "Keep your brother's failure from your mind, and it will be impossible to fail."

Corin frowned. "I can't believe you doubt my focus after all I've done."

* * *

"Are you alright, Natalie?" Antoine said.

She shook her head vaguely from in the clutches of her own hands. More than likely, she was curled up like a caterpillar. The sensations of her legs and arms in the open air slowly returned.

"Need food." She muttered. It didn't help her race was in the middle of the day, but she'd forgotten to pack lunch this morning from having woken up late and rushing.

"I'll see if I can steal some biscuits from the teachers table."

Natalie didn't have the heart to add she had no desire to consume sugar, but it was possible that Antoine wanted a slice of cake, so she muttered a feeble 'thanks' as his footsteps faded. When she opened her eyes, she noticed the Two of Cups was balanced underneath Antoine's bag.

By the time he returned, Natalie had wiped the sweat that hadn't dried with her towel, finished her water bottle and put her favourite necklace around her neck. Antoine had a museli bar in his hand, and there was no cake in sight.

"Miss Hayley was very protective about the sweets," he said, "but she gave me this instead."

Natalie was pleased. She'd rather have a museli bar anyway, "Thanks."

The crinkling of foil as she opened it was as satisfying as new pocket money.

Antoine sat back on the grass and gathered the tarot cards in a pile. His eyes darted to her necklace, curiously, "You're going to do long jump in that?"

"I probably shouldn't." Natalie said, not wanting it to break, "but sometimes it makes me feel like I'm more how I'm supposed to be."

"Huh?"

She chewed two bites before answering.

"By society's standards."

"Oh."

Her friend knew all about how she felt about such matters.

"You don't need to change." He said. It almost sounded sad.

"Thanks."

"You're awesome because you don't conform."

"Tell that to my mother."

"Your grandmother would have said the same." Antoine said.

Natalie felt grief at that. Her Grandma had passed away at the start of year seven, and the world had been lonelier since. The necklace with the Paraiba Tourmaline on it was from the will. Apparently her Grandma had worn it when she was in college. If only her Grandma was alive still, Natalie could ask about the circumstances to where she'd received it. What was high school like for Grandma? Did she get confused about emotions too?

Words left her. What could she say to Antoine? Where was the conversation even going?

Antoine pressed the 2 of Cups card in her hand, "Will you keep this?"

Natalie took it, her brain still foggy.

"I'm moving away to London in a month." He said.

The thoughts were clearer, once they finally arrived. "London? Why? It's a horrible city."

Not only was it dirty, but fill of aggressive homeless people, congested train stations, and expensive bus tickets.

Her head became overworked at the thought of what school Antoine would go to and then realizing that meant he had to leave _this_ school. She'd be even more an outcast than before.

"I tried to convince my parents to let me stay here, but you know how overprotective they are."

"Is it because of the floods?"

"Maybe. Work."

 _It must be because of the floods,_ Natalie rationalized, _because his dad is paranoid, and the one who has the most money._

"Is it a forever thing or temporary?" she pressed, "Your parents are just picky, right?"

"I might be able to come back here for University." Antoine said, "If I even _go_ to University."

Natalie understood. No one had any idea what they were doing with their lives. University might as well have been in the next lifetime for all the help it did. Her childhood had been fun because of Antoine. No one else could replace him. Why couldn't his dad allow some freedom just this once?

"That's not fair!" she blurted out, before she could stop herself.

"I know." Antoine groaned. "I'd invite you over, but it's still packed with the…"

… _people who lost their houses,_ Natalie finished internally. Tears wet her face. How could this happen? Crying was not a fate she was fearful of, only not understanding the world, and it staying that way forever.

She peered down at the card Antoine had given her. Technically, it belonged to her, so it was simply being returned, but she preferred to think of it as a kindness. Why did a nice image of two friends have to look so frightening?

"It's not fair," she said again, as her mind whirled with hundreds of other injustices, "It's not FAIR. It's not fair."

If she was clearer in thinking, perhaps she would have asked what the meaning behind the card was. To her, it was a friendship card. Though she didn't ask what it meant to him.

* * *

With the scent of grass and salt of sweat still in the air, Natalie bit off more of the museli bar and almost choked on it, too upset to swallow properly.

Few seconds remained until she gave it her all. No one cared except her. Maybe three others were watching. The training was a bludge class. No one ever cared. Her classmates and those in other grades were throwing their shoes around the oval, disrupting the few who took it seriously. Natalie didn't focus on that. She placed her feet over the starting line, even if it was mostly faded chalk. Clouds had filled the sky in the past hour and it appeared overcast. This would be something to celebrate, but the shade under the tree would probably be too cold. She'd have to return to the stands, and since they were metal, it would also be unpleasant to sit on. Her life was becoming cold, painful and unforgiving, like that card with the man being stabbed multiple times. Wasn't one spear through the heart enough? Why did they have to extend down her torso as well?

Miss Hayley brought a whistle to her lips. Natalie tensed her muscles, bracing to run. She prepared for the burn, the pain, even as tears filled her eyes. Antoine couldn't leave. His absence would pierce her soul, but she'd continue on regardless. All that mattered right now was proving to herself that she could thrive.

The shrill ring hurt her ears, but she ran, as though trying to escape all the harshness and claws of life. As her legs ached from their previous sprints, all the trainings she'd spent without recovering properly, it didn't matter now. Natalie gasped for breath, she pushed past her pain. She'd transcend it, become something new. She wanted to end the cycle of pain and pick up a card with cups on it, to know she had something to share, and someone to share it with.

Antoine was watching her jump because he was a loyal friend. There were no times to beat, only distance to make. It didn't matter how quickly they became successful in the Sims, if all their characters spoke nonsense and it could happen by clicking the mouse. How did they really get there? How did a person make sense of the world if it moved so fast?

Moments before pushing off the ground, the sound of the wind, the announcement over the megaphone, the mindless chatter of passers-by and those playing music off their phones dissipated. Silence made as much sound as before, an emptiness that was somehow full of answers, if only she could reach for them and remember to close her fingers. And the light. There was a bright beam that crashed from the clouds into the pit of sand. Maybe only Natalie saw it. Maybe she was hallucinating, but it stopped her from jumping. Instead, she skidded and tried to jump again.

Did someone disqualify her? Had she lost?

There was no noise. Why? Where was the squeal of the megaphone?

A scream broke the quiet as a man appeared where the light had been. It was not only her voice, but _his_. And he was definitely not in high school.

She bashed into his arm, covered in silver armour, and stood back, nearly falling over, looking here and there. The people around her had been immobilized. Everyone on the oval was motionless. They had a foggy appearance about them, and their outlines were tinged a greenish grey. Was this what a hallucination was like? What could she do if it was?

But who was the stranger who had mysteriously appeared?

Her eyes widened. It looked like that Knight from her dream. His jaw was rough, his face scratched, eyes like amber. Oh, what was his name again? It was suddenly embarrassing to be wearing shorts and a blouse in the presence of such a menacing person. She could so easily be murdered with one swipe of his sword at her bare legs.

"Where is this?" he demanded, apparently frustrated. His heavy eyes turned to hers, "What are you?"

Not who, but _what_?

"I'm a girl!" she blurted out, insulted yet again that someone couldn't tell her biological sex. "What kind of question is that?"

"I mean are you a thief? A peasant?" he pressed.

"Neither!" Natalie shouted, somewhat terrified, "and I'd like to know who you are as well. I was in the middle of long jump and now I'm probably not going to win anything!"

She didn't know why she'd said it. Clearly this person was of another time and place, but if she was hallucinating, did it really matter what she said? Why was someone from a dream here anyway? Maybe the teacher had given her an expired museli bar. It had tasted a bit tart.

"What?" the man asked. He sounded European. Where in Europe was he from?

"You're from the dream I had this morning," Natalie said. "So if you're part of my imagination it would be nice if you went away now. I have a life."

 _Really,_ she thought to herself about the last part, _that's a lie._

"Don't try to trick me, demon." The man said.

"Why am I a demon?" Natalie demanded, "You're _my_ hallucination. If anything, you're the demon."

The stranger looked like he was thinking about this. It seemed weird that a hallucination could get confused. Weren't they meant to be purple elephants or flying waffles? If she was acting out from insanity, wouldn't someone had grabbed her by now? Why wasn't she being lead off to the loony bin? If she was, but hadn't realized it, her brain was super fucking messed up.

"My name is Natalie Moore, I'm a student," she decided to leave out too many irrelevant details, "I don't have a job."

The Knight looked around, and appeared equally bewildered by the surroundings. "My name is Corin Naevius, I am a Grey Warden from Evidensca."

They both stared at each other. Not a single common point of interest existed between them. Natalie had a thousand more questions… like what the heck? And why didn't that sound like anything from history class? If it was going to be messed up details from her brain, at least make it something she could recognize.

Corin's eyes widened, "Move out of the way, girl."

"Natalie!" she shouted, "Jeez, it's not that hard to pro…"

Her words were interrupted by the Knight as he withdrew his sword, "If you are not a demon, then leave the Fade before something malicious steals your mind and destroys you."

The what now? Was the 'Fade' his word for a happy place, for this illusion? If it was, it was ridiculous.

"How do I leave?" she shouted.

"Concentrate on waking up." Corin said, taking out his shield now, "Think of nothing else."

Did that mean she was dreaming? Had she collapsed and passed out? Considering this stranger was from a dream in the first place, it made some sense.

"I'm trying!" Natalie said, but she had to admit she was also getting distracted by the general weirdness of the situation. Then she realized, did she want to leave? Would the world she came back to be any better? "How did you get here?"

"Get behind me!" Corin urged her, "Unless you'd like to have your joints torn out by a Griffon."

Natalie's jaw dropped. A griffon? She must have been reading too much Harry Potter recently. She hurried to her feet, her legs still aching as much as they did before, and managed to look over Corin's shoulder to see, sure enough, a gigantic feathered creature with sharp opal talons and beak flew toward them with the force of a typhoon. She'd never been so terrified out of her wits.

"Why is a Griffon…."

"By Dumat's grave, ask your questions later!"

He took a stance, ready to fight.

Knights could talk and cut at the same time, couldn't they?

"But I want to ask them…."

"Later!"

As the Griffon collided with Corin's shield and tried to tear it away with its talons, Natalie thought she might vomit. Her heart was pounding faster than it ever had while she was running, and she wasn't even doing anything. This is what imminent death felt like. She covered her head with her arms and wasn't sure whether to run further away, roll up in a ball on the ground or use Corin as a barricade.

"Tatiana, break free!" he yelled at the beast, as it squawked and tried to bite at his armour, flapping its wings diligently. "This is not you. I know it isn't. Please! Or I will not show you mercy."

Did the Knight know the Griffon? It certainly seemed that way. Why else did it have a name? Why were they fighting then?

There was a large slicing sound and the creature screeched louder still.

Natalie regretted peeking to see what had happened. One of the Griffon's eyes was pouring with blood. Corin was holding his shield to protect his face, and swinging his sword wherever the force from the wings wouldn't weaken the attack.

She screamed as 'Tatiana' punctured through Corin's right pauldron. Her insides lurched, just imagining how much that would hurt. He grunted, losing his concentration. Blood oozed from the wound, yet all she saw was the back of his head, and the monstrous flapping of wings from the creature. It was like a seagull trying to escape the clutches of another seagull, but twenty times bigger.

"Should I run? I'm good at that!" Natalie shouted, forgetting her earlier rule. If this was a dream, would she wake up if she died? Or would she stay stuck in the dream and experience agony? Either solution was awful.

Corin ignored her and struck the beast at the neck, then through the other eye, at the expense of having that same arm crushed between its beak. He screamed, as the griffon screeched too. It was so loud it made Natalie get an instant migraine.

In her panic, she remembered the card of the man with many swords through it. Having talons lacerate the body would probably be just as painful. What if that actually happened? How could this Knight beat such a creature? Was he going to die?

Even as the man braced with his sword, and the griffon's attack became more erratic, she decided she didn't care what the odds were. This Knight was not allowed to die, dream or not.

Not knowing what she was doing, Natalie reached around to Corin's side, the arm with the injured shoulder and added support, trying to press down on the wound if she could, if only to take some of the weight off, to make it easier. The man's face was strained, clammy and his legs were shaking with the weight of holding off the beast.

"Kill it!" Natalie shouted, "One last shot. That's it."

It might have been a lie, but sometimes, she had to tell herself these things to get herself through, like when she was training and wanted to give up.

"I… can't…" Corin said, basically stuck in one place, "The injuries have… affected my… strength."

"If we run, will it chase us?" she hurried, pushing harder to hold up the shield, "Will it bleed out?"

" _She_ will chase us, but yes, eventually, _she_ will bleed out," Corin snapped, halfway between exhausted and annoyed, "if we don't keel over first… but I wanted to kill her quickly, so there was no unnecessary pain."

Natalie cringed internally as blood from the griffon's injury started to create a pattern on the sand beneath them and Corin's arms shook more violently. Clearly this Knight cared about the griffon, whatever their connection was, but either they'd both die or it would die, leaving them a chance of survival. As noble as it was, the cleverer idea was to be selfish.

"You said you'd show her no mercy." She said. There was no other way, "Stick to your word."

The man's eyes darted to the side, his eyelids heavy, blood spraying onto his armour from the sockets of the griffon. It's feathers were maroon, otherwise well groomed and rather beautiful. It was a shame its fate would be death, one way or another.

Corin seemed to interpret her comment however he wanted, "I need you… to hold up the shield."

"What?"

Natalie felt worried. She'd never done anything like that before, not with a _real_ shield.

"I will use what power I have to kill Tatiana, but I need both my arms, as pathetic as they are." he took a shallow breath. He didn't wait for her consent, but growled, "Take it. If not, we will die with her."

On automatic from urgency, Natalie awkwardly placed her hands where Corin's were positioned on the shield.

"Brace with your legs, your whole body,' he told her.

Without so much as a smile, he let go.

 _Legs_ , with some confidence, Natalie pretended she was preparing to run. She could do this… oh god her arms were terribly skinny and weak…. Still…

The shield caved on top of her and hit her head as the griffon lurched. She moaned, trying to hold it steady. With all the stamina it took to do so, Corin blurred as he lunged at the griffon's side once… twice… Natalie tried to hit the griffon with the shield, but nothing. It had no effect.

Once the griffon's struggles became imitations of movement, then went still, she kept the shield high in the air, as though afraid it would leap back to life again.

Corin balanced over the body of the griffon, gasping, but taking care not to fall to the ground. "Though my aerial, sister of the skies, has perished, you died with your blood joined with mine, not slave nor servant, but equal. You will not… be forgotten."

The griffon and the Knight were connected somehow. Weird.

Natalie finally brought the shield to her chest, her heart racing. It was still quiet, and her surroundings… they had become denser. No people were there, but the vague outlines of buildings or branches of trees. Had she gone further into the dream? _What_?

Her mental chatter faded as Corin sliced through the griffon's throat. More blood, and bones became visible.

"What are you doing?" Natalie demanded, "Rest, don't make it worse."

"I need proof Tatiana is no more." Corin said shortly. She cringed as he reached down into the structures of the neck with the sound of forcing the carcass of a chicken apart, and removed a glowing blue stone from somewhere at the front of its spine, covered in muck and fluid. Was it bone? Hardened flesh? Whatever its origin or purpose the man kept a tight grasp on it.

"What now?" she wondered.

"I intend to find some healing salves within the Fade before departing." Corin said, "You may accompany me, or leave if you feel well enough. Thank you for your help…"

"Natalie."

"Natalie," the man repeated it confused. He head toward one of the foggy looking trees, "What region are you from?"

"Um, are you from the thirteenth century?" Natalie said, not knowing how much he would know about her home, "Greece, or the time of The Black Plague?"

Corin didn't look at her as he examined the tree, picking at its branches. "The year is 1:95 Divine, and we are in the middle of the Second Blight."  
It's like they were speaking two different languages but were missing a translator. Again, why couldn't her dreams pick out things she could make sense of?

She should leave, but this was so bizarre, it was impossible not to be fascinated. It didn't _feel_ like a dream. Natalie wondered why someone hadn't woken her up yet. She hoped she wasn't in a coma like in some of the movies she'd watched. It would be scary to discover the truth of what this experience even was. Maybe she was psychotic. Her mother would probably kick her out of the house. Could she had gone into cardiac arrest and be dead?

She approached Corin, who had found a shrubbery of some kind, except it was glowing blue.

"What is that?"

"An ethereal plant, it has healing properties, but it will only slow my wounds down." Corin said.

"But if this is a dream, then…"

"It is not clear what death in the _Fade_ does to someone outside of it." Corin said, reminding her to use proper terminology, "I have only heard stories. Sometimes it kills, sometimes it doesn't. I'd rather not take the risk."

"Good idea." Natalie agreed, but then she thought, "If you're _Fading_ or whatever the word is, where are you in the "real word"?"

She used the term loosely, not having any idea why this hallucination was so intricate and detailed, even if it was all bullshit.

"I was fighting darkspawn in the remains of Barindur."

"What and where?"

"Monsters in what is left of an old Kingdom." Corin reworded it, carefully, "A demon possessed Tatiana, with aim of killing me, and I made a pact with the creature. If it left my physical body unharmed, that I would enter the Fade and try to free her. I think it agreed because it thought I would die anyway."

The Knight looked very depressed indeed at the mention of his animal.

"I'm sorry." Natalie said, peering at the body of the griffon. "It – _she_ was very beautiful."

"I would like to reward you for your help, if you have nowhere else to return to." Corin said.

She tensed. Technically she was meant to be at an athletics carnival…

"My physical body isn't from your world." Natalie said, slowly, feeling awkward now.

"Have you always wandered the Fade?"

Natalie shrugged. She had no idea how to explain it to this man. He didn't question it though.

"Focus on returning to your body." He said, "And you can go home."

She paused. As terrifying as this experience was, she hoped it was one of those rare dreams she could continue. "Will I ever see you again?"

Corin shrugged, "I don't know, but you've seen me before from the Fade. I may appear again."

Did he think she was a stalker? If he did, he made no show of it. Maybe the "Fade" was weird in the same way dreams were, that it had its own logic that was pointless to question.

The thought of this not being her only adventure made it was easier to accept going back to the outcome of her long jump. She closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could on the sand pit, "See you later."

* * *

Natalie opened her eyes. The sky was what she saw first, dark and littered with stars. Next, she realized she was lying on what felt like… melted rock?

"What?"

The word came out of her mouth in a different voice.

She glanced down at her body. It was not that of a fifteen year old girl. Armour covered her, similar silver to Corin. Maybe she was in her early twenties… eww! That meant she was _old_.

Natalie turned to her side and saw that her arms were bandaged. Corpses of… things that looked like goblins or orcs were on the ground, sticky with green blood. Her immediate surroundings felt and looked like molten lava that had cooled over. It made ripple like patterns in the ground. Forrest lay beyond it, like this was an epicentre. It was otherwise peaceful.

"Nariah!" came a familiar voice, "Thank Razikale, I thought you were dead!"

Before Natalie could figure out what was going on, a barely scratched Corin leant over her and kissed her on the forehead.

Shocked, she screamed, "Its _Natalie_!"

"Excuse me?" Corin stared for a long while, but cleared his throat, "You… what about your physical body?"

"Don't ask me!" Natalie shouted, "What was the kiss for? Who's Nariah? Was she your sister?"

"I don't have any siblings." Corin said, looking befuddled, "Nariah fell in the fight. My brothers and sisters declared her dead. They…" he peered around, "I believe they fled."

"Do brothers and sisters mean something else in your language?" Natalie said, trying to sit up. In her first dream, there was mention about Corin having a brother. Was family not what he meant?

Corin helped her sit upright.

"Grey Wardens are not bound by blood, but by comradeship." He said.

"Grey Wardens," Natalie repeated, thinking the name was stupid. "What does that even mean?"

Corin sighed, and looked over his shoulder, as though trying to read the trees. "We will head back to Minrathous to recover. I can explain on the way."

Natalie wondered what had happened here, really, "What about…"

She turned around, what felt a plait flew behind her as she did. The maroon griffon was laying on the ground some feet away, practically asleep, if it wasn't for a portion of flesh that had been torn from its spine like before. There was a lot less blood, no injured eyes or torso. The Fade and 'reality' didn't match.

Returning her gaze to the Warden, the orb, like in the Fade, was glowing from Corin's satchel. One of his gauntlets was drenched in blood.

Hopefully the walk to Minrathous would take hours, because she had a lot of questions.


End file.
